【Quick Wear】My Years as a Mother-in-law

Chapter 213 Grandmother Jia 15

"Mother, my second brother is an official in the Ministry of Works. I asked him for help. He heard I'd be moving in tomorrow, so he took it very seriously and asked his colleagues for revisions." Jia Min said embarrassedly, "Compared to this drawing, my original design was too crude and rudimentary. It really is true that every profession has its own specialties."

Yun Xi thought to herself that this painting was nice, but it was expensive. Her budget was only 50,000 taels of silver. How much did the Grand View Garden cost? Even a million taels of silver wouldn't be enough.

"How about this? These gates, halls, and buildings are unnecessary. Some of them don't conform to the rules. We can just replace them with orchards. We can enjoy the flowers, eat the fruits, and make wine, which is also a source of income. The bamboo, flowers, and trees inside don't need to be expensive. Ordinary ones will look just as good. The wood and bricks for building the house don't have to be the best. Medium-quality ones will do."

"There's really no need to dig the ground to make a pond, pile up stones to build a mountain, or erect beams to build a pavilion."

After Yun Xi made some changes, only a circle of ten courtyards was retained, with a small lake in the center and a pavilion in the lake.

Jia Min was shocked. This was too many changes.

"My budget originally only had 50,000 taels of silver, and I'll increase it to 60,000 taels for you. You complete this goal."

Knowing that a courtyard was going to be built in the backyard, the first and second wives each contributed 20,000 taels, and Yun Xi contributed 10,000 taels. Now that she had added another 10,000 taels, there was no more left.

Upon hearing this, Jia Min drew another picture on the side. There were four courtyards on each side. The two courtyards in the south and the Lixiang Courtyard in the north formed a pocket shape. Inside the circle were various orchards, and finally a lake with a large pavilion built in the middle of the lake.

The four courtyards on the west side are called Fangfeiju, Fangrunzhai, Huilanshe and Huixinyuan from north to south.

The two southernmost courtyards are called Jiyuexuan and Chaoluting from west to east.

The four courtyards on the east side are named Xiyuxuan, Yinfengge, Xiayuetang and Yingyuetang from north to south.

As for the building materials suppliers, they had to find new ones, and they had to be cheaper. They chose blue bricks that cost five cents each, tiles that cost two cents each, and no expensive wood, just medium-quality Chinese toon wood. Lime needed to be more expensive, and all of this would cost about thirty thousand taels of silver.

Next, for the bluestone to pave the road, go to the quarry and buy some cheap ones. The cheap ones have no patterns, but have horizontal and vertical lines, and are a little bumpy, to prevent people from falling in the snow in winter. The quality is similar, but the prices vary greatly. Two thousand taels should be enough to pave all the roads.

For a large construction team, five thousand taels should be enough.

Fruit trees...

Bamboo, apricot trees, apple trees, peach trees, cherry trees, fig trees, jujube trees, peonies, roses, golden balsams, lotus flowers, osmanthus flowers, etc.

Yun Xi glanced at it and said, "Don't plant fig trees. They have a bad meaning. Just plant a few lotus trees to create a beautiful view. They might freeze to death in winter. Planting one a year is too expensive. We can plant two cherry trees in the orchard. Everyone likes to eat them, one in the north and one in the south.

Jia Min nodded, "Then change it to pomegranates and grapes."

"You can plant a walnut tree in each corner. Eating more walnuts will make you smarter. There's a kind of blueberry in the Northeast that's good for the eyes. Plant some of that, too." Yun Xi said, "You can buy some fish fry from the river and raise some fresh fish there. That will also bring in some income."

Her intentions were always so simple and unpretentious.

Jia Min quickly took note that thirty of each kind of fruit trees would be enough. All the fruits would be eaten by the family, so they had to buy good varieties and trees that could bear fruit the following year. It was estimated that it would cost around eight thousand taels.

There are still more than 10,000 taels of silver left after the house is built. I will use them to customize furniture and ornaments, some not-so-expensive but nice-looking porcelain, and find some contemporary painters and calligraphers to paint and write poems. Contemporary works are not expensive. I guess there will be some money left by then, so I can prepare some xylophones, chess boards, libraries, and places to paint.

Jia Min hesitated, "Mother, where should we choose the library?"

Yun Xi said, "The library must be located in a quiet place. Why not build a three-story library between the Jiyuexuan and Chaoluting courtyards? As for a painting area, there's no need to prepare a special one. At most, we can add a third floor to the attic to use as a painting studio."

"The library in the middle is called the Self-cultivation Pavilion." Jia Min counted on her fingers. "If we add another floor, we'll be a bit tight on money. I'll choose some cheap paintings for the furnishings."

"I'm relieved to have you worry about it. It's settled. Ask your eldest brother to take you there."

"it is good."

Jia Min ran to find Jia She with full confidence.

Yun Xi looked at the design drawings on the table. The reason she didn't want to spend too much money was because the two Duke's Mansions could not always belong to the Jia family. It would be fine for Jia She's generation, but Jia Hu's generation could also have a viscount, and later... So why spend so much money to build a house? If the censor saw it, he would definitely accuse her of extravagance.

Somehow, the Jia family's plan to build a garden was noticed by the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Works finally demanded eight thousand taels to guarantee that the garden would be built well.

Jia Min was also helpless. It was really hard to refuse. After all, the craftsmen in the Ministry of Works were much better than those found outside. Yun Xi was very optimistic. If the court wanted to generate revenue, we should cooperate. It would only cost an extra three thousand taels.

In May, Zhang gave birth to a boy, and Wang gave birth to a girl. Yun Xi was smart both times and grabbed the opportunity to name the baby.

"My fourth brother's name is Jia Zhang. Zhang is the name of a lucky jade, which means we are happy to have a baby. My second sister's name is Jia Fengchun. With the saying of a dead tree coming back to life in spring, it means new life." Yun Xi said out the names she had thought of long ago.

A dead tree comes back to life with spring. Jia She thought this name was very suitable for the Jia family's situation and applauded.

Jia Zheng, who prided himself on his exceptional talent and learning, tugged at the strands of his mustache and said, "Mother's choice of name is excellent, but shouldn't it also have a nickname, like Changshou and the others?"

Yuanchun dragged Jia Lian around the adults and, upon hearing this, she called out, "Yuanchun's nickname is Ming'er~"

Jia Lian, the clever one, said, "That's the point!"

Jia Zhu said shyly, "I am a hundred years old."

Jia Hu puffed out his chest and said, "Longevity is here! Take a stick from my Monkey Brother!"

Yun Xi smiled. This was not a problem for her. "Zhang'er will be called Ping'er from now on, and Fengchun will be called An'er. They both have older brothers to support the family business. As long as they live in peace and safety, that's all that matters."

"That's the truth."

Construction in the backyard began only after the two children were one month old. Truckloads of building materials were brought back, and the people from the Ministry of Construction skillfully dug the foundation and built the house.

During this period, Jia She and Jia Zheng took turns supervising the construction. It took three months and was completed at the end of September when the weather turned cooler. All the construction workers left, and only then did Yun Xi have the opportunity to take the female family members to visit.

The construction team's skills are really good. For the construction fee of 8,000 taels, they not only helped to clear away the garbage and dust before leaving, but also carved pictures and painted some of the pillars.

Seeing that everyone was satisfied, Jia Min started the next step. She found a carpenter to make custom furniture, and the gardener also delivered the various trees she ordered. It took her and her people three days to plant them all. The gardener also had after-sales service, and those that didn't survive would be replanted free of charge next spring.

Good service.